Navy Officer is First Graduate of AFIT's Cyber 200 and Cyber 300 CoursesPosted: 02/27/2012 by AFIT Public Affairs

The Center for Cyberspace Research (CCR) is proud to announce Matthew R. Fomby, Lieutenant Commander, US Navy, as the first individual to graduate from both the Cyber 200 and the Cyber 300 Professional Continuing Education courses conducted at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT).

Lt Commander Fomby is a 1999 graduate of the US Naval Academy. In 2010, he became a Navy Information Professional (IP) after serving as a submarine officer for 10 years. The Navy IP Community is similar to the Air Force's 17D, Cyberspace Operations career field, and has been tasked with the mission of operating, maintaining, securing, planning and acquiring Naval networks and systems that support Navy operations and business processes.

Faced with the challenge of educating himself on network operations and protection, he was given the opportunity to attend the Air Force's senior cyber professional rating course, Cyber 200. "The Cyber 200 course was an incredible opportunity and provided the base that I needed to kick start my education in network protection," said Lt Commander Fomby.

After graduating from both courses, Lt Commander Fomby stated, "Cyber 200 focused on network exploitation and vulnerabilities from an operator's perspective, with their hands on a keyboard. Cyber 300 provided the understanding of where these issues fit into the greater joint fight. These courses have given me the background and understanding necessary to go into a joint position dealing with network operations, of any variety, with the confidence that I can meet the challenges and move forward providing the best support necessary to both my current future commanders." Lt Commander Fomby is currently stationed at US Strategic Command.

Cyber 200/300 Professional Continuing Education are senior and master cyber professional rating courses designed for all Department of Defense (DOD) cyberspace professionals, providing an understanding of the integration and application of cyberspace capabilities, as well as the design, development, and acquisition of cyberspace systems. They also explore cyber asset capabilities, limitations, vulnerabilities and employment in Joint military operations. Cyber 200/300 courses are continually updated to keep DOD cyberspace professionals current and at the cutting-edge, keeping pace with the rapidly changing cyber domain operations.

Due to AFIT's cyberspace initiatives, research, and close interactions across the Air Force the Secretary of the Air Force designated AFIT and CCR, as the Air Force Cyberspace Technical Center for Excellence in June of 2008. Our charter is to lead in the growth of Air Force cyber professionals and provide operationally-focused technical solutions through graduate education, Professional Continuing Education, DOD research, and Advanced Cyber Education (ACE) for ROTC cadets. "As the Air Force and DoD continue to grow its cyber workforce, courses like Cyber 200 and Cyber 300 allow for rapid assimilation to the cyber operational domain. Lt Commander Fomby's completion of both Cyber 200 and Cyber 300 is a great example of opportunities to successfully grow and mature this workforce," Dr. Richard Raines, Director, Center for Cyberspace Research.

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